Join us as we celebrate 100 years of votes for women

This marked a turning point in British history. Women had previously been prevented from participating in democracy in any meaningful way – the complexities of politics were either considered irrelevant to women or beyond their comprehension, so decision making was limited to the realm of men. Hard to believe, right?

Of course, many women of the time also objected to this blatant discrimination and committed their lives to the fight for electoral equality. It is these women that Centenary Cities Nottingham intends to celebrate, one hundred years since their efforts first bore fruit.

Alongside six other UK cities with unique histories of women’s suffrage, Nottingham will be hosting events and activities throughout 2018, honouring these brave campaigners and rejoicing in the voting rights that we still enjoy today.

We want as many people as possible to join in the party – including you! Why not take a look around our website to find out how you can show your #SupportForSuffrage? You could…

Events Calendar

Centenary Cities Nottingham

A great read to kick off your Easter weekend with a bang - thanks to @suffragepioneer for putting this list of wonderful women together. Time to show them the recognition they deserve! 🎉♀️🗳🎉 #Vote100 #VotesandVoices #SupportforSuffrage https://t.co/eX075ZA9G1

The perks of working in the same office as @kerrycooksblog - impromptu visits with #suffragecake! Tastes as good as it looks 😋 🎉♀️🗳🍰🎉 #Vote100 #VotesandVoices #SupportforSuffrage #NottsWomenVote #NottsWomenBake

I write for those women who do not speak, for those who do not have a voice because they were so terrified, because we are taught to respect fear more than ourselves. We've been taught that silence would save us, but it won't.
- Audre Lorde

We are thrilled to be co-ordinating the Centenary Cities Nottingham project, marking 100 years of women and the vote in our great city. Nottingham has a unique history of suffrage and we look forward to celebrating the efforts of local women who fought tirelessly for electoral equality with men, often at great risk to themselves. We owe these campaigners a huge debt of gratitude and are pleased to be celebrating their legacy with a series of exciting activities and events throughout 2018.

We will particularly be encouraging Nottingham women to mark the centenary by registering to vote and encouraging others to do the same. What better way to honour historical suffrage campaigners than by bringing to life the diverse, engaged and representative electorate that they fought to create a century ago?

We are a Nottingham based collective of maverick creatives who happen to be women. Our goal is to create events that showcase performance work that is female-led, and in doing so promote the voices and stories of women and girls. We have partnered with Centenary Cities to bring a performance arts focus to the celebration of 100 years since some women were first able to vote in Britain.

We are excited to be working with theatre artist Kate Willoughby on her show “To Freedom’s Cause”, which documents the story of famed suffragette Emily Wilding-Davison. Kate will be performing the show and collaborating with us on workshops for local school and community groups throughout the year, beginning with an appearance during our week-long festival of performance in March. We hope participants will be inspired to raise their voices and create the legacy they want to see!

We work across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire offering a range of services to women with mental health needs, women offenders, women who are seeking asylum, facing extreme poverty, escaping abuse, or simply wanting to make a change in their lives. We also work with a range of partners to improve the lives of women, girls and LGBTQ+ people in Nottingham.

Supporting women to have their voices heard and their issues raised is a key part of our work, so we are delighted to be involved in Centenary Cities. We look forward to celebrating women’s engagement in democracy and to supporting more women to be listened to.

We were formally constituted in 2010 with the primary aim to celebrate, promote and research the contribution made by women to the social and political history of Nottingham.

We are commemorating and celebrating Vote 100 in Nottingham because it is about women and the ongoing debate about their rights and status in society. The Representation of the People Act (1918) was an important watershed and eventually led to all women gaining the same voting rights as men in 1928.

The vote was only won after a long and determined campaign for suffrage and Nottingham and Nottinghamshire women were key to this. In our programme for Vote 100 we hope we have provided a range of events and activities for you to participate in.